History 17/Asian 25—Japan to 1700s
Jōmon/Yayoi handout
Geography—
Four Main Islands of the Japanese archipelago:
 Honshū 本州
 Shikoku 四国
 Kyūshū 九州
 Hokkaidō 北海道
Four Main Plains on the Japanese archipelago:
 Kantō 関東
 Nōbi 濃尾
 Kinai 畿内
 Tsukushi 筑紫
By 130,000 YBP
32,000 YBP
12,700 YBP
500~400 BCE
400 BCE~250 CE
Humans present.
Evidence of Paleolithic culture.
Evidence of pottery usage; beginning of Jōmon
Rice culture introduced to northwest Kyushu.
Agriculture established in Japan.
Jōmon 縄文 (10,500~300 BCE)
 Lengthy “period” characterized by “rope-patterned” pottery
 Hunter/gatherer society marked by stable and relatively complex
settlements
 Evidence of significant cultural diversity as well as contact and trade over
long distances
 Relatively warm climate until 2,500 BCE provided stable supply of food
 Housing and settlement patterns persist into historical periods
Yayoi 弥生 (ca. 300 BCE~ca. 300 CE)
 Rice agriculture and metal use (iron and bronze) introduced to
southwestern region of archipelago and slowly spreads northeast
 Agrarian surplus contributes to stratification and increased signs of
warfare
 Political contact with the continent increases as rivalries among
“chieftains” in the archipelago take shape
 First written records concerning the archipelago found in Chinese dynastic
histories